Forgiving–And Forgetting–Elizabeth Warren

Guest Commentary

I was among those who thought Sen. Elizabeth Warren was an ethnic fraud—more specifically a “box checker” who claimed Cherokee ancestry to ascend to the Harvard Law School faculty.

But the Boston Globe, in its feature, “Ethnicity not a factor in Elizabeth Warren’s rise in law,” convinced me otherwise. While I wish she would not have waited six years to turn over her teaching records, I am persuaded by the Globe that Sen. Warren never checked any “Native American” box for professional gain—especially not at Penn and not at Harvard.

So I forgive Sen. Warren for claiming tribal ancestry, and am now anxious to forget the entire “Cherokee grandma” controversy that surrounds her. It’s time we all forgive and forget.

The criticism I have about the continued critiques of Sen. Warren’s ancestry is that they cite a void of genealogical documentation for her great-great-great grandma from the late 19th Century—the types of documentation that either never existed for grandma’s in the late 1800s; or are demonstrably incomplete as to Indians who endured that genocidal time in American history.

Truth be told: If such historic federal, state, or local government documentation is the metric of tribal belonging in 2018, most current tribal members would not measure up. Nobody Native I know has their great-great grandma’s marriage license or great grandma’s birth certificate.

Sen. Warren claims she first learned of her Cherokee and Delaware ancestry from her grandma. This is precisely how most of us learned we are tribal: our grandmas told us. That is precisely how I first knew I was Nomlaki and Concow: my grandma told me.

The single biggest existential threat is now . . . us. By that I mean our continued internal reliance on colonial-turned-federal modes of tribal termination and assimilation—most notably, blood quantum, residential criteria, and federal censuses/rolls—as measures of tribal belonging.

If we continue to self-define ourselves by using the colonizer’s genocidal tools, we will eventually “kill the Indian” ourselves. Disenrollment—with 80 tribes now engaged in the practice—is a glaring example, with greed-addled tribal politicians wielding those tools to self-terminate their own kin.

So let’s all forgive and forget Sen. Warren. Let her cherish her grandma’s teachings and what she believes is her kinship. Let’s instead focus or energies our teachings and our kinship.

Gabriel S. Galanda is the managing lawyer of Galanda Broadman, PLLC, in Seattle. Gabe is a descendant of the Nomlaki and Concow Tribes, belonging to the Round Valley Indian Tribes of Northern California.

About The Author

I learned about our Native Heritage from my mother whose father and mothers lines were Native. They were there in pictures and in the stories I heard growing up. I asked which tribe my Great Great Grandmother belonged to and it was Mohawk. Then there were the Conshohocken” and Susquehanna. We have to remember that the borders that exist today are Colonial borders. They did not exist prior to Europeans arrival. I went to Virginia and found that in 1704 the entire Adult Tribe of my Nanzatico Ancestors had been sold as slaves to Antiqua. One of the children of the Nanzatico is my 8th ancestor, “Indian” Charles! It is a history that is full of the pain and suffering of my ancestors. I have to stay in a spiritual place or hate will consume me.

If this is Warrens truth then let her embrace it and join with us in protecting Indigenous Peoples rights.

How is she a fraud? She merely claimed Native ancestry and has proven that beyond a doubt. She hasn’t demanded tribal rights and will donate the one million dollars Trump promised (which he likely won’t pay) to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center.

Nancy Lytle5 months ago

I appreciate your well expressed point of view on Senator Warren not being a ‘box checker’. What I do not understand is why any of this was brought to the forefront in the first place? She is of European descent, she was raised and lives in that culture. She is American, not Native American.

IBrewTea5 months ago

I watched the video Warren made. I think she is aware of this past because her parents/grandparents (? I forget) lives were affected by racism. The cause for the racism was an ancestor’s identity as a Native American. The marriage between her white and native grandparents/parents was vehemently opposed by the extended family, so the couple moved a lot. Due to the difficulties this native identity caused for her parents/grandparents, it is logical that she would know about the ancestor. Also, in the video, Warren said she understood that tribes regulate tribal membership and she was not making a tribal claim.

I do not know very much about tribal politics. But the video seemed like Warren was recounting a personal (family) experience and nothing more.

LeeAnn Davis5 months ago

Obviously, this would never have become an issue had she not “checked a box” or passed herself off as a minority. She was not a minority and she was being untruthful. There is something really repugnant about that and it attests to her lack of moral character. She could have just kept it to herself and continued to share that with her family. Why has it now become a national issue? President Trump made fun of it because her claim was so ridiculous. I think she just shot herself in the foot.

Frank Talk5 months ago

Sometimes things become issues because politicians think they can gain from the process, LeAnn. But that cuts both ways! Pointing and chanting “Pocahontas” says more about the moral character of Republicans / Trump than it does about Elizabeth Warren.

Michael Madrid5 months ago

I heartily agree! Republicans have whipped up the morons among us to believe that Warren is demanding tribal rights! She did little more than confirm the stories passed on by her elders – that she DOES have Native blood in her ancestry. People should be more concerned that the big orange bastard is refusing to pay the promised one million dollars to the charity of Warren’s choice (the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center).

Gene5 months ago

Senator Elizabeth Warren should take a trip to Bolivia. Indians don’t do powwows down here. Indians do something called a Tinku fist fight festival. Men & women will participate. No DNA tests required.

Sylvia Barrett5 months ago

Sen. Warren along with other Democrats has helped the Apache Stronghold continue to fight a mine in Arizona that was sneaked into the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 by Sen. John McCain. This mine will destroy Gaan Canyon & an area known as Oak Flat. The area is sacred to the San Carlos Apaches. Apaches go there to pray, gather medicinal plants, the acorn & have relatives buried there. The area will be destroyed and turned into a pit at least 2 miles wide x 1000 ft. deep. Apache Leap will also be destroyed. That is a mountain where 76 warriors chose to jump rather than be taken captive by the cavalry. Maybe she does not have enough Native blood to satisfy some in the Native community but she is trying to do good with an administration that is bent on destroying Native culture. The Apache Stronghold is glad to have her on our side in the fight against foreign mining interests.

Patricia Olmstead5 months ago

Thank you for your comments. I know the damage that many public servants in Arizona and other tribal lands has done. John McCain did damage with Black Mesa and other sacred areas. It always helps to have any kind of advocate for what is right.
Aho mitakuye oyasin. Pilamaya

Raquel5 months ago

I can appreciate what the author is saying but I have to fundamentally disagree with the main point. If she didn’t use her kinship ties for political posturing I would be more inclined to forgive her. But the fact that she uses identity as some kind of ploy against the trump administration is pretty bad. She didn’t rely on her family stories but rather turned to blood testing to determine if she was Native or not. So Warren used the very same settler colonial tools (blood testing) to determine kinship that the author is critiquing. This defense doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Alan Thompson5 months ago

I am tired of the endless jokes the media us to frame the debate of native heritage, I have heard all the rhetoric directed toward any tribal member the derogatory slurs about wampum, forked tongue, fauxahontus, ad nauseum. Why can’t Sen Warren admit a large amount of white people claim Indian heritage but at the same time hating people of different color. Double standards change the dynamics of the argument.

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